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Sniper Class
The Sniper Class is one of the Soldier Classes in the game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Specialized in dealing large amounts of damage from extreme range, the sniper is invaluable resource for both scouting and surgical elimination of enemy units at long distances. Please note: Sniper are not suited for close-quarter combat without supplemental training. Rookie promotion is slightly weighted toward classes you have less of, but promotion is otherwise completely random. Weapons The Sniper Class can be equipped with a sniper rifle and a handgun. Relies on a handgun a lot more then any other class, so give your sniper(s) upgraded handguns first. Abilities When a soldier is promoted, certain ranks gives the player the option to choose 1 from the 2 available abilities to give to their soldier. Tactics The primary role of the Sniper Class is to quickly kill priority targets or dispose of a few weak targets. The unique characteristic of the class is the focus on long range combat: unlike other weapons, sniper rifles have greater accuracy at long distance, and suffer reduced accuracy at close and mid range. Available abilities allow snipers to develop into two general types — Mobile and Stationary. Mobile is generally better for missions where lots of movement and CQC is expected (like alien ships and hostage rescue.) Stationary is better for open missions (like abductions and alien bases.) Most disadvantages can be mitigated by creative planning and proper implementation of strategy. Mobile Mobile snipers use their "Snapshot" ability for hit-and-run tactics, where they outflank enemies engaged by the rest of the squad and gun them down. "Gunslinger" is a questionable choice for this setup because mobile snipers have an option to retreat from too-near target and engage them in one turn. "Damn Good Ground" is more preferable, because mobile snipers suffer an accuracy penalty from "Snapshot" after moving. "Battle Scanner" is also helpful to plan moves in advance, as mobile snipers can engage only targets in their own view zone and the scanner can be used to scout the area without alerting the enemy. However, the scanner's field of view is separate from that of the sniper, and the soldier still needs to approach the targets, and thus alert them, to make an actual shot. The key point of this tactic is to master outflanking without putting your sniper in risk. Advantages: Mobile, can shoot with the rifle in almost any circumstances. Disadvantages: More dangerous for the soldier, less accurate. Stationary Stationary snipers use "Squadsight" to bring heavy punishment from afar. Using this tactic, stationary snipers select a "nest" with good view and remain in it, shooting at targets spotted by squadmates. "Gunslinger" is helpful for this spec, as stationary snipers can't move and shoot with the rifle and are forced to use the pistol when out of the nest. The combination of "Squad Sight" and "Battle Scanner" can allow "free shots" on exposed enemies, as the scanner can be thrown at extreme distance, covers a wide area and doesn't alert the enemy. Key point in this tactic is finding best spot to sit on and changing it at right time. Advantages: Stays out of harm, accurate. Disadvantages: Bad mobility, bad performance on the move or vs close targets. "Double Tap" vs. "In the Zone" The true potential of the Sniper Class unlocks at the Colonel rank. Both abilities presented at this stage allow multiple shots per turn, but in different ways. Tactics and other abilities need to be taken into consideration. "Double Tap" allows to use the first action for shooting instead of moving. If the sniper has a good enough position, he/she can potentially shoot twice per turn, at the same target or different ones. It can potentially double the damage against tough single targets, or can allow to kill two weaker targets in the same turn. The downside is that the ability's benefit is negated if the sniper is moving in that turn, which can potentially turn off "mobile snipers" from this ability, depending on the expected frequency of movement. It is also limited by the cooldown, which only allows the ability to be used every other turn. It is activated automatically when taking the first shot; cooldown can be tracked by opening the sniper's status window: when "Double Tap" is available, it will be shown in beneficial status effects. "In the Zone" allows to sustain fire as long as the sniper continues to kill exposed targets. Potentially, it allows to kill an unlimited number of enemies per turn. However, the potential is limited by the requirement that the targets must be visible to the sniper, and to be flanked by him/her or to be completely out of cover. For maximum benefit from the ability, sniper's sight range can be extended with "Squad Sight", supplemented with "Battle Scanners" if available. Targets can be exposed by destroying their cover with plasma weapons or explosives, or flushed out of cover with Assault Class' "Flush" ability. Alternatively, mobile snipers with the "Snapshot" ability can move to flank the enemies, although this is likely to cost some accuracy. Certain enemy types, such as Chryssalids, Zombie, Berserkers and Drones, tend to ignore cover completely, making them extremely easy targets for the sniper. The downsides to this ability are that it can't provide an increase in damage vs single tough targets, and that it is accuracy dependent, which means its potential is lowered when using "Snapshot" for mobility and in close-to-mid combat situations. It also doesn't work against enemies in cover, requiring specific tactics from the player to benefit from the ability. Other abilities are less style-dependent. "Executioner" helps to finish off wounded, while "Opportunist" allows to setup "Reaction Fire" ambushes. Tips & Tactics: Sniper as a Carry At impossible/classic difficulty, the sniper class is your carry. Like carries in other games, he starts off as one of the most useless, weakest classes, and by the end carries the team to victory. Highly promoted snipers with elevated positions (or in flight at high altitude) can safely pick off targets en masse, in complete safety, without alerting additional packs of aliens, while your squad only has to not die for a couple turns. Before squadsight, you have to do everything you can to get kills and promotions to your snipers. Keep them in the safest cover, have them take first crack at any enemy that will be focus fired, have them use grenades to get the last hits if you have to. Sniper promotions > Alien Research, weapon fragments, everything. From there, build the right side of the sniper promotion tree. The must-haves are Squadsight, Opportunist, and Double Tap. At this point, every mission begins with what can you do to get the high ground for your snipers; not only is there bonus visibility, better sight lines, a natural defense and accuracy bonus, but 'Damn Good Ground' increases many of the bonuses further. If you overwatch here, you can engage patrolling aliens at great advantage, then after they are dealt with, your squad can move through all the sight lines of the snipers to clear the stationary groups. Once all that remains is enemies camping inside UFOs and buildings, your assaults can take over, doing the run n' gun shotgun thing without fear of aggroing more packs while they flank around. You can also use explosives to give snipers sight lines so they can support the CQB in a pinch. With Stationary Snipers (obviously with Squadsight), always move last. That way you can ensure you can react and potentially save teammates who discover aliens but have missed their shot or ran out of actions to be taken. After everyone else took there turns, it's up to you to decide whether to choose Overwatch or to move the sniper to another position. Equipment: Consider equipping the Sniper with Skeleton Suit as soon as it is available. This is more useful for the stationary sniper, of course. The Grapple can be used twice per turn, and will allow your sniper to get to higher ground instantly. It depends on the type of the map, though, how useful this can be - on shot-down/landed UFO missions, there are usually no buildings or elavated ground. On Terror Missions and abductions, however, this is extremely useful. After Archangel Armor is available, you can discard Skeleton Armor, though. S.C.O.P.E. is extremely useful for low-rank Snipers, ensuring their shots hit, and that they score enough kills to advance in rank. After they have high enough aim, though, consider switching to Micro-Fiber Vest or Chitin Plating when you are using Skeleton Armor, to compensate for the lower armor plating. Archangel Armor means you can instead use Medikits or grenades. Bugs * Snap Shot & Double Tap :: If your sniper getting these skills, then second shot from Double Tap will affected by Snap Shot which reduce the accuracy by 20%. Category:Soldier Classes